Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

Lin Zhiyao turned her head from the sofa, a hint of smugness in her voice: "Without money, how would you have had the chance to awaken?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Ran was slightly taken aback.

To some extent, Lin Zhiyao was right.

Although the awakening potion wasn't a necessity for him, it could still bring him real benefits.

Of course, the benefit is not in terms of increasing strength, but mainly in concealing the identity of a cultivator.

Having awakened his innate abilities, he can appropriately display some of his strength, instead of always talking about his innate divine power.

But only there.

If there really is no awakening potion, he can continue to hide until his cultivation reaches the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage.

At that time, he will be able to demonstrate his strength.

It's just a matter of sooner or later.

Lin Ran sat down at the other end of the sofa, his posture casual: "Alright, what you said does make sense. But if I need money, I can easily earn it myself."

"What a joke? You earn it yourself? Do you think making money is an easy thing?" Lin Zhiyao's lips curled into a sneer.

"As an F-rank Awakener, even with the best treatment, you wouldn't earn more than a million a year. Even if you didn't eat or drink, it would take you thirty years to earn enough for one Awakening Potion."

Lin Haozhe spoke up at the right moment: "Third sister, you underestimate Brother Ran. He's someone who can kill a third-tier mutated beast all by himself."

"What?" Lin Zhiyao turned her head abruptly, slightly doubtful. "He can kill a third-tier mutated beast?"

Lin Haozhe nodded: "That's right. Although it was in a virtual environment, Ran-ge really did kill a Tier 3 mutated beast all by himself. Everyone in our class knows that."

"So what? The crystal cores of a third-tier mutated beast are only worth two or three hundred thousand." Lin Zhiyao curled her lip.

"Even if he could kill a third-tier mutated beast every day, he'd only earn tens of millions a year. Can that compare to Big Sister's?"

Lin Ran shook his head: "Boring."

"What? You're resorting to cheating just because you can't win an argument?" Lin Zhiyao raised her chin, a smug look on her face.

Lin Ran replied with two more words: "Childish."

"Who are you calling childish?" Lin Zhiyao jumped up from the sofa. "I'm your older sister, two years older than you! If anyone's childish, it's you!"

"Age and mental maturity are not directly related." Lin Ran raised his eyelids slightly, his tone flat.

Lin Zhiyao was stunned for about three seconds, her expression shifting from confusion to realization, and finally to anger: "How dare you call me an idiot!"

"You have a really good imagination."

"Ugh... I'm so angry!" Lin Zhiyao clenched her fists. "I challenge you to a duel!"

Lin Ran gave a playful smile: "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Lin Zhiyao took a step forward. "I'm going to teach you a lesson, you arrogant fool!"

"Third Sister," Lin Haozhe said, feigning kindness, "Brother Ran just defeated Sun Jinghuan, who is at the Tongqiao Realm, today. He has an S-level fire-type talent."

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhiyao suddenly stopped in her tracks.

She turned to look at Lin Haozhe, then back at Lin Ran, her eyes filled with uncertainty.

Previously, when Lin Haozhe said that Lin Ran killed a Tier 3 mutated beast in a virtual scene, she could barely accept it.

After all, there are no worries in a virtual environment, so you can go all out without any worries.

However, the arena is quite different from a virtual setting.

Moreover, an S-rank Qi Opening Realm cultivator is capable of fighting beyond their own level.

Back then, Lin Ran's defeat of Sun Jingyao, an A-level Qi Opening Realm cultivator, was already quite astonishing.

Now that he has defeated Sun Jinghuan, who is at the S-level, doesn't that mean he is even more of a genius than a genius?

How is that possible?

"I'm absolutely not lying to you, it happened this afternoon," Lin Haozhe said sincerely.

Lin Zhiyao raised her chin again, but she didn't seem so confident: "So what? Maybe Sun Jinghuan is just not good enough."

"That makes sense." Lin Ran said seriously, "Perhaps your A-level talent is even more powerful than an S-level talent?"

"Hmph, you're smart to know what's good for you." Lin Zhiyao crossed her arms, her expression arrogant.

She knew, of course, that she couldn't possibly be stronger than Sun Jinghuan, who was at the S-rank, but as a water-type awakener, she wasn't afraid of fire-type awakeners.

Even though the potential of an S-rank fire-type is slightly higher than hers, water-type is inherently superior to fire-type.

Both are at the Tongqiao realm, so the outcome is still uncertain.

Lin Ran revealed his true intentions: "Then how about we have a contest? How about we bet a third-tier crystal core?"

"I..." Lin Zhiyao paused slightly, her eyes darting around: "I'm magnanimous and won't hold a grudge against you."

"You're really too magnanimous," Lin Ran teased. "Anyone else would definitely not have been able to tolerate it."

"You... Hmph!" Lin Zhiyao turned her head away, a thin blush rising on the tips of her ears: "As the older sister, I can't bully my younger brother."

Her words still carried an air of arrogance, but her voice was at least two tones lower than before.

As Song Yishu came down the stairs, she overheard the conversation and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Hehehe... Yes. Xiao Ran, Zhi Yao was originally a gentle person, you'll see later."

"Mom...you're laughing at me too..." Lin Zhiyao's ears turned completely red, and her voice softened instantly, with a hint of coquettishness in her tone.

Song Yishu's smile remained unchanged: "Really? I was clearly speaking up for you."

Seeing this, Lin Ran shook his head helplessly.

It seems I'm destined to never get this third-tier crystal core.

At this moment, Lin Hongbo also came down the stairs, carrying a silver-gray metal briefcase, which was a whole size larger than the one that contained the gene serum last time.

He walked up to Lin Ran, placed the box on the coffee table, and said, "Here are the body tempering potions and spirit energy replenishing potions I promised you."

Lin Ran glanced at the box but didn't reach for it.

For someone who possesses the Xuanhuang Cauldron, using this purified medicine would be somewhat wasteful.

If he were to exchange it for a crystal core of equivalent value, it would probably be enough for him to reach the pinnacle of Qi Refining.

He paused for a few seconds, then spoke solemnly: "Actually, there's absolutely no need for that."

"I'm your father! Take it if I give it to you!" Lin Hongbo pushed the box towards Lin Ran again, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

Lin Ran's lips twitched slightly.

Although the other party was just stating the facts, he still felt offended.

"Ahem... Although we are father and son by blood, I can't accept this kinship yet, so..."

"Just consider it a gift from an ordinary elder."

Lin Hongbo interrupted him, his tone softening slightly: "You'll find it useful eventually. For me, it's nothing."

After he said that, if Lin Ran continued to refuse, it would seem a bit pretentious.

But Lin Ran just boasted that if he needed money, he could earn it himself.

Wouldn't it be a bit embarrassing to accept this gift in public now?

So he refused again: "Of course I know these potions are nothing to the Lin family. However, I truly feel they are unnecessary. Because these things won't be of much use to me."

Through the metal box, he could sense the spiritual power contained in the potion inside.

One of them is roughly equivalent to a third-order crystal nucleus, while the other ten are only at the second-order crystal nucleus level.

Refining these potions may require dozens of times the amount of crystal cores, and the selling price is as high as 20 million.

But for Lin Ran, this was only equivalent to two third-order crystal cores.

In other words, by accepting this box of medicine, he was essentially receiving another 20 million in favors, while the benefit he personally received was only equivalent to 400,000.

It doesn't seem like a good deal at all.

"Although you only have F-level talent, if you use more potions, you still have a chance to break through to the Inner Breath Realm. There's no need to be discouraged."

Clearly, Lin Hongbo misunderstood Lin Ran's meaning.